Women Should be More Active in Managing Their Money
In modern America, you would think that men and women had equality. Well, that may be wishful thinking in some areas, and in other areas equality is only a hop, skip, and jump away from becoming a reality. And in some unsuspected places, for that matter.
As in professional sports. Professional surfing's governing body (The World Surf League) announced last year that it will give equal prize money to male and female athletes in all of its events, starting in 2019. Raise your hand in pride, Billy Jean King. Someday is today.
But women who aren’t professional athletes, like the rest of us mortals, face unique financial obstacles. They make less money over the course of their careers than men due to the gender pay gap and the choice some women make to temporarily leave the job force.
For every dollar that U.S. men make on average, women make about 80 cents. When you take race into account, the gap widens. Black women make 63 cents for every dollar white men make. Latinas make 54 cents.
Also, single women are more likely than single men to have the financial burden of custodial parenthood. And a lot of women enjoy less wealth-building fringe benefits (such as employer-sponsored retirement plans) because women are more likely to work part-time, and such benefits are often denied to part-time workers.
Add to that the fact that women live longer than men on average, putting a strain on women’s retirement funds.
However, studies show that women who do invest, outperform their male counterparts.
Fewer women purchase stocks than men. But when they do, women are investing in the market more intelligently than men and producing better returns it seems. Several studies back up that claim that women investing in stocks are better at it than men. Why is that? Reports point to women investors' tendencies to:
1) engage in less trading than men
2) buy and hold.
The truth is that women are an integral part of the economy, and the market share is set to increase over time – and that is a great thing. Currently, women are the ones who are the major decision-makers when it comes to household purchases. Women make buying decisions in 91 percent of homes. When it comes to buying cars or vehicles, a woman made 60 percent of those decisions.
Isn’t it about time that women stepped away from the kitchen table, covered in household bills, and started taking a more active role in the management of the rest of their money?
The more women earn, the better off the economy will be, and the stronger the country will be as a whole.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.
Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.
These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.
David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC